Thames Water drinks in profits but warns of rising bills to come
THAMES Water said yesterday that tighter cost controls had driven a full year pre-tax profit rise of four per cent to £435.1m, but warned of a challenging year to come.
The UK’s largest water company said that for every 100p of profit it made, it has invested 226p in a programme which included replacing London’s worn-out Victorian water mains. But it warned that its 8.5m customers faced rise in their water bills of 17 per cent over the next five years.
“Decades of under-investment have kept our bills artificially low,” said Thames Water chief executive David Owens. “Unfortunately they must rise so we can fund vital upgrades.”
The group said that last year’s wet summer dented revenues from metered demand, which are expected to deteriorate further still.